at 18:30 (JST), September 01

Asian View

"Asian View" is a five-minute news segment broadcast by NHK WORLD-JAPAN. It features the latest news and deep analysis from Japan and the rest of Asia. Listen to "Asian View" and get the latest information from a region that's playing an increasingly important role in the world.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/upld/medias/en/radio/news/20220901183000_english_1.mp3


Key words : pakistan possible
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220901_09/

Pakistan is again calling for international aid amid rising concerns over possible infectious disease outbreaks in the wake of widespread flooding.

Since mid-June, various regions of Pakistan have seen rainfalls significantly heavier than the annual average.

Local disaster authorities say 1,191 people have been confirmed dead so far.

The flooding has severed roads and railways. Food and medicine remain in short supply.

Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman on Wednesday warned of possible outbreaks of infectious diseases such as malaria and cholera due to worsening sanitary conditions.

The minister told reporters that mosquitoes have been found in the affected areas, and expressed concern about waterborne diseases. She added that many people could become ill.

Rehman called the latest flooding in her country a climate disaster. She said Pakistan is affected by global warming even though it bears little responsibility for it.

She said countries emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide should be held responsible.

Key words : appropriate funeral
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220901_06/

People have rallied in Tokyo to protest against the government's decision to hold a state funeral for former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. Abe was shot dead on July 8 while making a campaign speech for a candidate in the Upper House election.

Public opinion in Japan is split over whether Abe should be accorded such an honor.

Civil groups who say it is inappropriate demonstrated on Wednesday outside the Diet. Organizers say 4,000 people took part, including opposition lawmakers. Participants chanted slogans saying a state funeral would violate the Constitution.

A protester said she opposes a state funeral for Abe because she believes it would be illegal.

Another said that "at least enough discussion should be done in Japan's Diet" since the government plans to spend a lot of taxpayers' money on the funeral.

The Cabinet approved last week the expenditure of about 250 million yen, or about 1.8 million dollars, for the funeral. The figure does not include expenditures on police security. Opposition parties say the final bill could reach several billion yen, or tens of millions of dollars.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio explained why he thinks the state funeral is justified.
He touted Abe's role as Japan's longest-serving prime minister and said he wants to honor the leadership he showed at home and abroad.

"Abe was killed during an election campaign -- something fundamental for democracy. The funeral will show that Japan won't tolerate such acts of violence," Kishida said.

He also said that he will spell out in the Diet why the government will hold the state funeral.

The ceremony will take place in Tokyo from 2 p.m. on September 27. Up to 6,000 people are expected to attend, including foreign VIPs.

Key words : china india drill
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220829_11/

The Russian defense ministry says large-scale military exercises in the country's Far East will be pushed back two days and will start on Thursday. The ministry says 13 countries, including China, India and Mongolia, will take part in the drills.

The ministry announced the date change on Monday, a day before the drills were scheduled to begin. The Vostok exercises are held every four years in Russia's Eastern Military District. They will run through September 7.

It is unusual for the dates of the exercises to be changed, but the ministry did not give a reason.

Russia apparently wants to demonstrate cooperation with the militaries of the participating countries to keep the United States, Japan and other nations in check. China first took part in the exercises in 2018.

The drills will be held at seven training grounds instead of 13 as initially announced. They include those on Etorofu and Kunashiri, two of the four islands Japan calls the Northern Territories.

Russia controls the four islands. Japan claims them. The Japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory. It says the islands were illegally occupied after World War Two.

The Russian defense ministry says more than 50,000 soldiers will take part in the exercises. About 300,000 military personnel participated in 2018. The reduction is believed to be due to troops in the Russian Far East being sent to fight in Ukraine.

Key words : defense ministry record high
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220831_33/

Japan's Defense Ministry is requesting a record high budget allocation of nearly 5.6 trillion yen, or about 40 billion dollars, for next fiscal year.

The ministry made the budget request on Wednesday as part of its drive to drastically enhance Japan's defense capabilities over the next five years.

The ministry plans to start large-scale production of new long-range standoff missiles that can attack targets from outside enemy range and could be used for counterstrikes.

They include an improved version of the Ground Self-Defense Force's ground-to-ship missile and high-speed glide bombs to defend remote islands.

The ministry also plans to develop unmanned aircraft that can be used not just for surveillance and information gathering, but also to launch attacks.

The ministry says it will construct vessels equipped with the Aegis anti-ballistic missile system.

The system can respond to ballistic missiles as well as hypersonic glide weapons, which are said to be more difficult to intercept. This comes in place of a scrapped plan to deploy the land-based Aegis Ashore missile defense system.

Key words : trading house 10 percent granted
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220901_04/

The Russian government has approved an application by Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corporation to retain its stake in the Sakhalin-2 oil and natural gas project.

Moscow announced in a decree on Wednesday that it will allow the transfer of a 10 percent stake in Sakhalin Energy.

Russia established a new company on August 5 to take over Sakhalin-2 in the country's Far East. The project had been operated by Sakhalin Energy Investment Company.

The stake is the same size as the one Mitsubishi held in the previous operator.

The announcement comes one day after the Kremlin granted a similar approval to another Japanese trading house, Mitsui & Co. The company will maintain its 12.5 percent stake.

The two Japanese trading firms recently notified the Russian government of their decision to remain involved in the project.

Key words : hong kong resurgence
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220901_02/

Hong Kong is struggling to get its economy back on track as it faces a resurgence of coronavirus infections.

New cases of the virus there have been rising since the beginning of August. The daily counts have hit around 9,000, marking the highest level since March.

The Hong Kong government continues to impose strict anti-infection measures in line with Beijing's zero-COVID policy. They include quarantine requirements for people traveling to and from mainland China and foreign countries, and a ban on gatherings of five or more people.

Such measures have dealt a serious blow to Hong Kong's economy, causing travel agencies and restaurants to go out of business. Many international exhibitions have changed their venues to Singapore.

Business leaders and Legislative Council members are calling on the government to lift the quarantine measures.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee was scheduled to visit the mainland to address the issues. But with infections spreading, he now plans to meet online with officials from Guangdong Province and others on Thursday.

Lee said that he hopes to reach a consensus through the meeting.

As Thursday marks two months since he assumed leadership of the territory, Lee is facing the daunting task of balancing Beijing's stringent COVID approach and responding to the needs of the local economy.

Key words : toyota boost
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220831_41/

Toyota Motor says it will invest up to 730 billion yen, or about 5.3 billion dollars, to boost production of batteries in Japan and the United States for its electric vehicles.

More than half of the money will go to a factory in western Japan run by Toyota's joint venture with electronics giant Panasonic and its own domestic plants. The rest of the investment is earmarked for a facility under construction in North Carolina.

Toyota aims to phase-in production from 2024. The company says that would give it six times greater battery production capacity than in May last year.

The automaker aims to sell 3.5 million EVs a year by 2030. It says it will work to build a supply system to meet growing demand in various regions.

Toyota rival Honda Motor earlier this week said it will spend 4.4 billion dollars to build an EV battery plant in the US together with a South Korean battery maker.